Another illegality: NSS detained Dr. Mayai momentarily, Shut Sudd Institute

Dr. Mayai was briefly arrested by South Sudan’s National Security Service (NSS), which also shut down Sudd Institute in the capital Juba.

Dr. Mayai was briefly arrested by South Sudan’s National Security Service (NSS), which also shut down Sudd Institute in the capital Juba.

Jok Madut Jok, one of the Sudd Institute’s founders, said this afternoon that a group of national security officials arrived to the Sudd Institute’s property and arrested the managing director and several staff members.

Jok said in an update that the national security service freed their employees after hours of questioning, but the intelligence agency has not yet restored the institute’s offices.

“We have received word that our colleagues at the Sudd Institute have been freed. However, the Institute remains closed,” Jok said.

Previously, the National Security Service shuttered the Sudd Institute’s offices in Juba. 

The Sudd Institute strongly opposes the NSS’s conduct and urges the immediate release of those detained. Dr. Jok Madut stated the need for charging and bringing the colleagues before a court.

He chastised the administration for “resorting to arrests, intimidation, and arresting people’ constitutionally guaranteed rights.”

The Sudd Institute is an independent research organization that conducts and organizes research and training to enhance the quality, impact, and accountability of South Sudanese policy and decision-making at the local, national, and international levels.